Pasta with Bagna Cauda Sauce, Rosemary Orange Thumbprint Cookies

Our unsolicited and biased opinions:

A day filled with art exhibits, lunch and wine tasting required a Saturday Night Special we could assemble in someone else’s kitchen.  Meg did the bagna caulda sauce two days before and I cleaned and blanched the vegetables.  We choose asparagus, green beans, yellow squash (blanched) and added julienned red and yellow bell peppers to the pasta water at the last minute. What a riot of color. There were five of us sitting around the table while the pasta water boiled and the bagna caulda reheated. It came together easily while we enjoyed luscious Bella Di Cerignola olives and Manchego cheese with our wine.  We served the pasta with a simple romaine salad dressed with a vinaigrette.

Everybody had different opinions about the pasta. The sauce was surprisingly mild given all the anchovies and garlic.  We used a narrow fettuccine and we think a thicker spaghetti (bucatini) or rigatoni would hold the sauce better. The sauce tasted good but seemed thin. Some thought that the addition of some parmesan at the end would thicken the sauce.  Another suggestion was to forgo the cream altogether (for a more traditional bagna caulda flavor) .We all agreed the next time we will reheat the vegetables  briefly in the microwave, add them once the pasta is fully drained and then add the sauce. This recipe easily serves 6.

We served Vin Santo with the rosemary cookies which was a perfect accompaniment to these wonderful cookies. The recipe for the cookies came from Sue’s mom and we don’t know the source.

Garden-Style Straw and Hay Pasta with Bagna Cauda Sauce

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray

Prep Time:  30 min

Inactive Prep Time:  8 hr 0 min

Cook Time:  30 min

Level:  Easy

Serves:  4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 bulbs hard neck garlic (about 24 cloves), cloves separated and skin left on
• Sea salt
• A couple handfuls each of assorted farm-fresh vegetables: asparagus, baby golden beets, baby carrots, baby zucchini, cauliflower or purple cauliflower, haricots verts, pattypan squash and/or sugar snap peas (1 1/2 to 2 pounds total)
• 1/4 cup EVOO
• Two 2-ounce tins or one 4-ounce jar good-quality flat anchovy fillets, drained
• 1 pint heavy cream or half-and-half
• 1/2 stick butter (4 tablespoons)
• Freshly ground pepper
• 8 ounces egg pasta, such as tagliatelle
• 8 ounces spinach pasta, such as tagliatelle
• 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped

Directions

Bring a small pot of water to a low boil, then add the garlic and simmer for 20 minutes. Let cool, then drain, peel and mash into a paste. Season with sea salt.

Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a large pot and season with salt. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Cut the vegetables into similar shapes and sizes but keep them separate. Blanch the vegetables, one kind at a time, until tender-crisp. Delicate vegetables like thin beans will take 1 to 2 minutes, firmer vegetables like squash will take 3 minutes. After each batch, transfer them to the ice bath to cool using a spider or a small strainer. Drain well.

Heat the EVOO in a small pot over medium heat. Add the anchovies and stir until they break down and melt into the oil. Add the heavy cream, butter and garlic paste, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until thickened. Let the sauce cool, then transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate overnight (or longer).

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta and season with salt. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the vegetables in the last 2 minutes of cooking to reheat them. Reheat the bagna cauda sauce in a saucepan over medium-low heat.

Toss the pasta and vegetables with the sauce and the parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook's Note: You can blanch the vegetables ahead of time. Store them in a re-sealable plastic bag in the refrigerator.

Weight Watchers: 31 Points for 4 servings, 21 points for 6 servings  Watchers Points: 10 points per serving

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Rosemary-Kissed Orange Thumbprint Cookies

Prep time:  30 minutes, chill: 1 hour

Serving: 24 cookies

• 1 c all-purpose flour
• ¼ c cornstarch
• 1 t finely snipped fresh rosemary
• ¼ t salt
• ¾ c butter, softened
• ¼ c powdered sugar
• almond extract – a few drops
• ¼ c orange marmalade

In small bowl stir together flour, cornstarch, rosemary, and salt; set aside.  In a medium bowl beat butter with mixer on medium/ high speed for 30 seconds.  Add powdered sugar and almond extract and beat until combined.  Add the flour and cornstarch mixture, mixing well.  Wrap and chill dough 1 hour or until easy to handle.  (I find it easier to get a consistent size for the cookies if I make a log about 1 ½ inches thick before refrigerating the dough.  When ready to make the cookies, cut log into quarters, then into six slices each.)

Preheat oven to 325’.  Line a baking sheet with parchment or silicone liner; set aside.  Shape dough into 24 balls.  Arrange about 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheet.  (They don’t change much in size during baking.  Use thumb or small spoon to make indentations in each cookie. (If you dip the spoon in water occasionally, it won’t stick to the cookie dough.)   Spoon about ½ t marmalade into the  center of each cookie.

Bake 14 minutes or until edges are lightly golden.  (17 minutes in my oven in Reno)  Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet.  Remove and cool completely on wire racks.  Makes 24 - 1½ inch cookies.

Weight Watchers:  2 points for 1 cookie, 5 points for 2 cookies  Watchers Points: 10 points per serving

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WINE

Apex Ascent Sauvignon Blanc, 2010, Columbia Valley  / $11.99 at Total Wine

Yes, this price was over our stated limit but we actually only paid $8.99 for the bottle with the multiple bottle discount!

Risotto with Shrimp, Arugula salad with Parmesan and Lemon, Limoncello Granita

Our unsolicited and biased opinions: 

For the risotto, start with 2 quarts of water, 1 teaspoon salt and crush the garlic cloves before boiling the shrimp.  We brought the broth to a full boil, added 1 pound of very large (16-20 count) shrimp and cooked for 2 minutes.  After cleaning the shrimp and returning the shells to the liquid, we did not cut up the shrimp, and we did not add them to the risotto while it was cooking as indicated in the recipe.  We were so totally right about doing the shrimp this way.  Next time we would save out 4 whole shrimp for garnish and cut the remaining shrimp in half lengthwise to add once the risotto is cooked.  Prepared this way, we think this dish would adequately serve 6 people if you include a nice salad and have had some antipasti.  It is very rich and satisfying. 

We added our whole shrimp after incorporating the last 2 T of butter, and they heated up nicely in the finished risotto.  Really, it was perfect – creamy, unctuous, comforting, etc., etc., etc. 

The arugula salad was a good balancing act, tart and slightly spicy. 

OMG! OMG!  The Limoncello granita was to die for.  You only need one scoop … we did two, because we didn’t realize how rich it was.   Decadence on a spoon!  OMG!  

The Pinot Noir was a great choice for the risotto.  Total Wine is two for two with recommendations.  The hints of cherry and strawberry in this dry wine were great with this meal.  We think good value is there for under $10 dollars, and we have been pleasantly surprised with their recommendations.

Risotto with Shrimp

Courtesy of “The Italian Cooking Encyclopedia”, Hermes House

Serves: 4 

·         12 oz fresh shrimp in their shells

·         5 c water

·         1 bay leaf

·         1 – 2 springs of parsley

·         1 t whole peppercorns

·         2 cloves garlic, peeled

·         5 T butter

·         2 shallots, finely chopped

·         1 ½ c medium grain risotto rice, such as Arborio

·         1 T tomato paste, softened in ½ c dry white wine

·         salt and freshly ground pepper

Place the shrimp in a large saucepan with the water, herbs, peppercorns and garlic.  Bring to a boil and cook for about 1 minute.  Remove the shrimp, peel, and return the shells to the sauce pan.  Boil the shells for another 10 minutes.  Strain.  Return the broth to a saucepan, and simmer until needed. 

Slice the shrimp in half lengthwise, removing the dark vein along the back.  Set 4 halves aside for garnish, and roughly chop the rest. 

Heat  2/3 of the butter in a saucepan.  Add the shallots and cook until golden.  Stir in the shrimp.  Cook for 1 – 2 minutes. 

Add the rice, mixing well to coat it with butter.  After 1 – 2 minutes, pour in the tomato paste and wine.  Raise the heat slightly, and cook until the wine/tomato paste liquid evaporates or is absorbed.  Add one small ladleful of the hot shrimp stock.  Cook over moderate heat until the stock is absorbed, stirring the rice with a wooden spoon to prevent it from sticking to the pan.  Add a little more stock, and stir until the liquid is absorbed or evaporates again.  Continue stirring and adding the liquid a little at a time.  After about 20 minutes of cooking, taste the rice.   When done al dente, put into a serving dish and garnish with the reserved shrimp and parsley.

*** We did not cut up the shrimp and add to the shallots and rice.  We cooked the rice and at the very end stirred in the whole shrimp and garnished with the parsley.  We did not want to over cook the beautiful shrimp, and it made a better entreé.

Weight Watchers: 14 Points per serving Watchers Points: 10 points per serving

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Arugula Salad with Olive Oil, Lemon and Parmesan Cheese

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence, Food Network

Serves:  4

Ingredients

• 2 bunches arugula, washed, dried, and torn
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• A chunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano

Directions

In a serving bowl, drizzle the arugula with the oil, squeeze in the lemon juice, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss until well mixed and taste for seasoning. Use a vegetable peeler to shave thin pieces of Parmigiano over the top.

Weight Watchers: 5 Points per serving  Watchers Points: 10 points per serving

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Limoncello Granita

Courtesy of “Giada At Home”, Clarkson Potter Publishing

 Serves: 4 

·         Lemon Simple Syrup (recipe follows)

·         1 cup (8 ounces) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature

·         ½ cup Limoncello liqueur

·         Pinch of fine sea salt 

Combine the lemon simple syrup, mascarpone cheese, Limoncello, and salt in a food processor. Process until the mixture is smooth. Pour the mixture into an 8 x 8-inch baking dish. Freeze for at least 4 hours or until mixture is firm.

Using the times of a fork, scrape the mixture into small serving bowls or glasses. Serve immediately.

Lemon Simple Syrup

Makes about 1 ½ cups 

·         1 cup sugar

·         1 cup water

·         Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, water and the lemon zest and juice over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool, about 20 minutes.

Weight Watchers: 16 Points for 4 servings, 11 points for 6 servings Watc

hers Points: 10 points per serving

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WINE

 Pinot Noir, 2010, Ropiteau,  Pays D'oc, France  / $8.99 at Total Wine